{"id":4746,"date":"2020-10-27T13:34:07","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T13:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=4746"},"modified":"2020-10-27T13:34:10","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T13:34:10","slug":"dirt-royal-live-up-to-great-expectations-with-a-breezy-slice-of-mod-influenced-rock-n-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=4746","title":{"rendered":"Dirt Royal live up to Great Expectations with a breezy slice of Mod-influenced rock ‘n’ roll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ALBUM REVIEW: Dirt Royal \u2013 Great Expectations (Time For Action Records)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Dirt Royal<\/a><\/strong> are an energetic three-piece rock ‘n’ roll band from Brighton who draw their influences from punk, indie and garage rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formed in 2013, they released their debut album This Is Now<\/strong> the following year on the German label Time For Action Records<\/strong>, and have released a couple of EPs since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-vocalists Leon Fenton and Charlie Russell trading lines in call and response Pete and Carl-style invited comparisons with The Libertines<\/strong>, but there was more than a touch of late ’70s Mod revival band The Chords<\/strong> in their sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, with this second album, they have found their own niche, and it’s even more Mod-influenced, recalling ’70s bands like Secret Affair<\/strong>, The Enemy<\/strong> from the noughties and current guitar slingers like The Spitfires<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dirt Royal are a tight unit, honed by lots of gigging (until this year, anyway), including prestigious support slots with the likes of Sham 69<\/strong> and From The Jam<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hadn’t heard them before, but was hooked from the off as opener As Good As It Gets<\/strong> sets out their sardonic view of life: \u201cTake shit, there’s just so much of it\/Get paid, only a little bit\/That’s just the way it is, that’s just the way it is\/Nothing we can do, nothing we can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album is well produced, so you can clearly hear the component parts \u2013 Leon throwing out three-chord riffs on guitar, Charlie’s rumbling bass and Los Hood laying down a great backbeat on drums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The single Glory Days<\/strong>, about chasing your dreams, is a standout, but in truth there’s not a bad song here, as Waiting For The Radio<\/strong>, the ska-tinged Stand With Me<\/strong> and title track Great Expectations<\/strong> all offering messages of hope in bleak socio-economic times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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